MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
Lisa Goodnight
[email protected]
(301) 450-1478
Regional Summit to Mobilize Communities Against Dirty and Dangerous Data Centers
People Over Data Centers, a day-long conference, will mobilize residents, advocates, community leaders, and public officials to take action
WHAT: Maryland’s first statewide conference on the dangers of unfettered data center growth and practical actions communities can take to fight back
WHEN: Saturday, November 7th, 2026, 9 am-5 pm.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:
- Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
- Bill McKibben, co-founder of Third Act
- State Senator Katie Fry Hester, Maryland’s District 9, Howard County
- Delegate Marc Korman, Maryland’s District 16, Montgomery County
- State Senator Karen Lewis Young, Maryland’s District 3, Frederick County
- Delegate Lorig Charkoudian, Maryland’s District 20, Montgomery County
- Delegate Sheila Ruth, Maryland’s District 44B, Baltimore County.
- Sophie Song, Data Center Policy Fellow, AI Now Institute
- Councilmember Natali Fani-González, President, Montgomery County Council, District 6
- Councilmember Will Jawando “at-large” representative, Montgomery County Council
- Dayvon Love, Director of Public Policy, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.
- Taylor Frazier McCollum, Prince George’s County organizer, Maryland Green Party
- Khalil Shahyd, Senior Strategist for Environmental Equity, Natural Resources Defense Council
WHERE: Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21201
RSVP: Please register for a press pass here: https://act.chesapeakeclimate.org/page/101843/data/1
SPONSORED BY: Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and Nature Forward.
Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Nature Forward will host the first statewide conference aimed at organizing and responding to the threat that data centers present. The daylong gathering on November 7 at the Baltimore Convention Center will feature top elected officials, advocates and everyday Marylanders working to safeguard our water, air, health, and climate, and insulate power bills from Big Tech’s alarming infrastructure agenda.
Nearly 80 percent of Marylanders already live in a county or city that has imposed a temporary moratorium on new data center permits, in what is perhaps the biggest and fastest grassroots rebellion in state history. Now leaders of those local fights – along with top state officials, experts, and advocates – will bring their expertise to Baltimore to debate new ideas and offer practical next steps.
The conference lineup includes sessions on:
- Environmental justice
- Protecting water resources, farmland, and open spaces
- Impacts on utility bills and the electrical grid
- A push for a moratorium and standards
- The promises vs the reality of AI
“With riveting local and national speakers, plus panels covering everything from water pollution to AI to local moratorium victories, journalists and policymakers will be able to hear and interact with everyday Marylanders working to defend their communities at the municipal, county, and state level in Maryland,” said Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
“For the first time, community leaders, organizers, and advocates from across the state will gather to share what’s working in the fight against dirty and dangerous data centers,” said Lydia Lawrence, Director of Conservation, Nature Forward. “People from urban and rural communities and across the political spectrum are uniting to protect our communities from the harmful impacts of unchecked data center expansion. This conference will send a clear message to elected officials at every level: data center reform can’t wait.
SPONSORED BY: Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and Nature Forward.
LEARN MORE: People Over Data Centers Maryland Action Summit – Chesapeake Climate Action Network
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